Inter Alia: An Ontology of Contemporary Australian and New Zealand Artists’ Practice

Abstract

This thesis examines the conceptual, material, and ethical dimensions of contemporary sculptural practice through the work of six artists connected to Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand: Hany Armanious, Kate Newby, Francis Carmody, John Ward Knox, Zac Langdon-Pole, and Francis Upritchard. The research explores intersections of materiality, artistic process, viewer experience, national identity (in art), and international art practice. It is informed by the author’s own artistic practice in ceramics and sculpture, with critical analysis of artworks by the selected artists. The investigation is underpinned by a qualitative methodology, with interviews serving as the primary source of research, supplemented by secondary source analysis and personal encounters with the artists’ work.

Key concerns addressed in this study include the role of tacit knowledge, embodied knowledge, and material agency - engaging with theoretical frameworks such as Vibrant Matter and Relational Aesthetics. The thesis interrogates how material and conceptual rigour function as epistemological tools that shape artistic inquiry. It also considers how artists navigate the ethical implications of material use, and how their practices intersect with broader ecological, social, and political concerns.

Significantly, the research reveals a shared emphasis among the artists on process-driven approaches that foreground interpolation, material intuition, and a rhizomatic model of creating and sharing work. These practices are contextualised within a Southern Hemisphere perspective, critically reflecting on questions of belonging, post-colonial legacies, and the relationship between local and global art networks. By tracing these interwoven concerns, this study positions contemporary sculpture as a site of critical and imaginative potential - where artists reframe inherited narratives, question dominant systems of value, and expand the possibilities of what artistic practice can contribute to the world.